In hindsight, we know what the 1972 season meant to the Steelers franchise.
In their 40th season, they finally won their first division title, and then made their first-ever playoff touchdown one you might have heard about before losing the AFC championship to the undefeated Dolphins.
But how did it play out at the time? Here's a look back at the 1972 season game by game, highlighting the highs and lows of the special season.
PRESEASON
After the Steelers and Redskins tied the last preseason game, Washington coach George Allen said, "Pittsburgh is vastly improved. (Terry) Bradshaw's got just the right amount of maturity to lead them to a division title."
The Steelers finished the preseason 4-1-1.
Scripps-Howard polled 26 editors and writers associated with their papers (which included The Pittsburgh Press) and picked the Steelers to finish second in the AFC Central, behind Cincinnati. Their Super Bowl pick was Dallas over Kansas City.
In the Post-Gazette, Al Abrams predicted that the Steelers would win their first division title in 40 years with an 8-6 record. (In the same column, he had the Pirates winning the World Series and the Penguins copping the division crown.)
And Sports Illustrated's NFL preview picked Pittsburgh to win the Central:
But for the fact they play out of town on occasion, one would defy history and flatly predict a division championship for the long-suffering Pittsburgh Steelers, whose rebuilding program has now prevailed through six U.S. Presidents, 16 head coaches and 40 haggard years. The Steelers have been in the football business that long without acquiring so much as a Kewpie doll for the office trophy case. They should win at least a division this year provided 1) their pass defense improves and 2) they become tougher rumblers in rival neighborhoods.
Pittsburgh has won the un-grand total of two road games in the last three years, even though Coach Chuck Noll has steadily improved a club that might have taken last year's race but for 42 turnovers, assorted bonehead mistakes and a secondary that ranked dead last in cutting off the pass. Now, Noll is banking on maturity (evidenced best in a settled, confident Terry Bradshaw at quarterback) to eliminate youthful sins, and, even if past is prologue, there is good reason for optimism.
Bradshaw, for instance, completed 54% of his passes last year and now shows poise to match the physical skills that made him the first player drafted in 1970. He also expects a championship year as if nothing less could be expected of Pittsburgh. "We're finally going to win the games we've been throwing away and get into the playoffs," he says. "I'm in my third year now and I'm more relaxed. Experience is going to have an effect on our playing."
To complement the improving arm of Bradshaw, Noll has the NFL's best receiver combination in Ron Shanklin (49 receptions, 652 yards, six touchdowns) and Dave Smith (47 for 663 and five touchdowns). Flare patterns should also be lethal since John (Frenchy) Fuqua, a dapper clotheshorse-workhorse who led the team in rushing, also caught 49 passes. Those statistics will be even more impressive if Bradshaw has lost his penchant for throwing interceptions (22 last year) and the line finds sufficient cohesiveness to protect him and backups Terry Hanratty and rookie Joe Gilliam.
Along with Fuqua, whose exotic wardrobe tastes require the services of a seamstress with a talent for jump suits, the running game will be the province of Preston Pearson, the team's best athlete, and Franco Harris, a No. 1 draft pick.
Defense is the big problem once the play gets past a Mean Joe Greene-led front four that rocked quarterbacks 33 times and knocked off the rush at a 3.4-yard average. The Steelers were ravaged for 235 completions and 2,766 yards, all too often when the pass was launched out of scrambling panic. "It's a question of discipline when those kind of things hurt you," Noll said, hoping that a new secondary coach and the additional experience will provide an answer.
WEEK 1 - OAKLAND
The Raiders, who would play the season opener in a sold-out Three Rivers, were a formidable foe. They had won more games over the previous five years than any other pro football team. It took until Friday for coach John Madden to announce that Ken Stabler would start over Daryle Lamonica. Oakland was a one-point favorite in The Press, 2 1/2 in the PG.
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George Blanda, right, looks over a birthday telegram with Ken Stabler. - AP[/caption]
In The Sunday Press, both Pat Livingston and Phil Musick picked the Steelers to win the division, although Musick acknowledged that he was going against 39 years of history.
The Steelers jumped out to a 17-0 lead early in the second quarter, led 34-14 in the fourth, and hung on for a 34-28 victory. Their first touchdown came on a Henry Davis blocked punt; the second on a quarterback sneak when Bradshaw noticed that the Raiders had left the middle open.
After a bad snap, Pittsburgh blocked another punt early in the third quarter. The Steelers couldn't move the ball, but Roy Gerela's 8-yard field goal made it 20-7. After Oakland scored another touchdown, Bradshaw hit Shanklin for a 57-yard score. After the Raiders scored their last two touchdowns, the Steelers had the ball 4th-and-1 at their own 28 with 30 seconds left. Bradshaw called signals, and Oakland's Horace Jones jumped offside to give Pittsburgh the clinching first down.
The Raiders used three quarterbacks. Stabler started, and completed 5 of 12 passes for 54 yards and 3 interceptions. George Blanda, who was celebrating his 45th birthday, was next, and he threw a 26-yard touchdown to tight end Raymond Chester as part of his 4 of 11 for 64 yards. Lamonica came in late and had some success, completing 8 of 10 for 172 yards and 2 touchdowns, but it was too late.
When Madden was asked if he'd be second-guessed for his choices, he said, "The second-guessers can go f*** themselves."
Bradshaw was only 7 of 17 for 124 yards and 3 interceptions to go with his touchdown.
In his first game, Harris carried 10 times for 28 yards.
To his surprise, Bradshaw was named NFL offensive player of the week.
"I was intercepted three times and completed just seven of 17 passes," the quarterback said. "That makes you think you don't have to do anything to win something. That's kind of an insult to my abilities. I feel like I'm red in the face."
"There are four games people say we can't win -- Dallas, Minnesota, Kansas City and Oakland," Bradshaw added. "I think we can win at least half of them. I think we're good enough now to handle things like that."
At Chuck Noll's press conference, Myron Cope was less than impressed with the 4th-and-1 penalty.
"Strategy! That's a lot of baloney," he said. "The Steelers didn't know what down it was. You thought it was third and one."
WEEK 2 - AT CINCINNATI
The Steelers then prepared for three straight road games, with the possibility of a fourth if the Pirates got into the World Series. The first would be in Cincinnati. During Noll's first three years, the Steelers were 2-19 on the road.
After the game opened even, the Post-Gazette showed that Cincinnati moved to a 2-point favorite, and mentioned that the Steelers hadn't started 2-0 since 1954. (They were 1-0-1 a couple of times.) The Bengals won their opener in New England, 31-7.
Horst Muhlmann kicked five field goals in five attempts to lead the Bengals to a 15-10 victory. Although Pittsburgh led 10-3 at halftime, Gerela only made 1 of his 4 field goal attempts, with two blocked. Bradshaw ran 12 yards in the second quarter for the game's only touchdown. The Bengals took the lead with 4:22 left on Muhlmann's fourth field goal after Cincinnati had recovered a Harris fumble and moved the ball upfield. After a Barry Pearson fumble, the last field goal came with 1:05 left.
Harris gained 35 yards on 13 carries. Each team lost three fumbles; Jack Ham had the only interception.
WEEK 3 - AT ST. LOUIS
As the Steelers prepared to face the Cardinals in St. Louis, Musick wrote in Friday's Press, "They are the Steelers, and when they blow one as they did Sunday -- committing suicide rather than suffering a more honorable demise -- the city does not need smelling salts. Their defeats do not stir the blood of a town long ago turned turnip."
Noll was concerned, though.
"It is important. I don't mean it is critical, but it means something. A team lives in a city -- not in some type of sterile environment," he said. "The players are affected by the city's reaction to them. And a negative reaction isn't good."
The Steelers opened as a 3-point favorite, and were up to 4 1/2 in Saturday's Post-Gazette, as the 1-1 Cards started Tim Van Galder at quarterback.
After St. Louis recovered a blocked punt in the end zone to take their first lead with 3:03 left, Bradshaw threw a 38-yard pass to Frank Lewis for the winning touchdown in a 25-19 game. The winning drive went 80 yards and finished with 1:06 on the clock.
Van Galder lasted two plays before Dwight White knocked him out of the game. Gary Cuozzo relieved him and was 15 of 35 for 199 yards and four interceptions. The last pick, by Mel Blount with 59 seconds left, clinched the game.
Bradshaw threw 40 times, completing 24 for 213 yards, including the winning touchdown, and one interception. He also ran one yard for the other Pittsburgh touchdown.
Harris did not carry the ball, but caught one pass for two yards.
Ham summed it up when he said: "They say we always choke. But today, when we needed it, we got it. Maybe it's an omen."
At his Monday press conference, Noll admitted to some emotion.
"I was truthfully shaking in shock after the game ended," he said. "It was probably our best victory, coming from behind to muster an offensive drive in the final minutes."
And about a roughing the punter penalty that wasn't called: "That was a great performance but he really wasn't touched," said Noll of Donny Anderson. "Rocky Bleier was our player going in to try and block the kick. Maybe he ate some garlic bread in the pre-game meal and his hot breath knocked out Anderson."
WEEK 4 - AT DALLAS
The next game was against the reigning champion Cowboys, who were coming off a 16-13 loss to Green Bay to fall to 2-1. The Steelers opened as six-point underdogs. The line was up to seven by Saturday.
Pittsburgh led 13-10 at halftime, with their touchdown coming on a 35-yard Blount fumble return on a Bob Hayes end-around, but a third-quarter halfback pass from Calvin Hill to Ron Sellers for a 55-yard touchdown gave the Cowboys a 17-13 triumph. Gerela missed two field goal attempts in the third quarter, and Dallas' Toni Fritsch missed three in the fourth. After his last miss, with 1:51 left, the Steelers drove from their own 10 to the Cowboy 22, but Bradshaw's pass to Lewis in the end zone as time expired went through Lewis' hands.
Bradshaw was 12 of 39 for 166 yards and one interception. Harris carried three times for 16 yards, although a late 76-yard run to the 2 with a Bradshaw fumble was called back for holding.
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Franco Harris during the 1972 season. - AP[/caption]
At Monday's press conference, Noll was happy with the last drive, despite the conclusion.
"Bradshaw exhibited something that is a real test of what he will be," he said. "He stood there and got knocked on his fanny and fired the ball in there. On the one that could have been the ballgame (Lewis' drop) he stood right in there and held the ball until the right time; he threw well under pressure."
More optimism: "As far as the division race goes, we're in good shape. We have to win at least nine games; if we do that, we'll win the division. We now have to put a streak of wins together, it's very necessary."
The Post-Gazette's Jack Sell pointed out, "That may take some doing. In his three years here Noll has never won more than two in a row."
WEEK 5 - HOUSTON
The Pirates' awful loss to the Reds in the NLCS meant that the Steelers' game with the Oilers would be at Three Rivers. They'd have switched if the Bucs were hosting the World Series. As of that Wednesday, 15,000 tickets were still available.
The 1-3 Oilers endured a 34-0 loss to Oakland on Monday Night Football and the Steelers were favored by 13.
Pittsburgh's defense held Houston to 108 yards, and the Steelers won, 24-7. The Oilers touchdown came on a blocked punt to give them a 7-0 lead, but their offense didn't get past the 50-yard line until there were four minutes left in the game. Attendance was 42,929.
Harris had a big game, picking up 115 yards on 19 carries and scoring his first touchdown from one yard out.
"We ran well and much of it had to do with Franco getting the extra yard or two; he ran very hard, aggressively," said Noll.
"Everything was beautiful," said Harris. "I feel great to know I did it and can do it."
Bradshaw was 9 of 19 for 70 yards and a touchdown, while running 8 yards for another score. Dan Pastorini was 10 of 22 for a mere 40 yards and one interception, and he was sacked 5 times for 40 yards, making the Oilers' passing game a net zero.
At his Monday press conference, Noll praised Ham.
"Jack has a hell of a lot of talent," he said. "I'd like to take credit for his pass defense ability but that happened to be one of his strengths when he came to training camp as a rookie last year.
"Our offense has a lot of trouble throwing the ball around him in practice each week," he continued. "Our linebackers have been tipping a lot of passes so the secondary can get them for interceptions."
WEEK 6 - NEW ENGLAND
The Patriots would come into Pittsburgh 2-3. As of that Wednesday, the Post-Gazette showed the Steelers as a 14-point favorite and 10,000 tickets left. It was down to 13 points by Saturday.
With the Steelers picking up 249 yards on the ground against Houston, and the Pats having allowed the Jets to run for 333 yards on the way to a 41-13 victory, Pittsburgh was expected to run the ball.
The Steelers ran for 243 yards and had their way with New England, winning 33-3. The last time they were 4-2 after 6 games was 1957, and the Bengals' loss to the Rams left Pittsburgh and Cincinnati tied for the Central Division lead. Attendance was 46,081.
"Yeah, it's a good feeling, I guess, to get your first touchdown here," said Ham, who returned an interception of Jim Plunkett 32 yards. Plunkett was also intercepted twice more and sacked six times before being replaced by Brian Dowling in the fourth quarter.
Fuqua led the ground attack with 111 yards on 17 carries. Steve Davis added 69 yards, while Harris ran 11 times for 27 yards. Bradshaw only threw 11 passes, completing 7 for 173 yards and one touchdown.
Terry Hanratty replaced him and led the Steelers to two field goals, part of Gerela's team record-tying four. Shanklin caught 5 passes for 111 yards and one touchdown. This put him at 101 catches in his three-year career, 11th on the Steelers' all-time list. (He's now 22nd on the Steelers' list with 166 catches. Martavis Bryant is the 49th Steeler to catch 100 passes.)
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Terry Bradshaw and Terry Hanratty look over fan mail in the locker room at Three Rivers Stadium. - AP[/caption]
WEEK 7 - AT BUFFALO
At the Oct. 23 press conference, the Steelers announced that their next two home games, Nov. 5 against Cincinnati and Nov. 12 against Kansas City, were already sold out.
At the trading deadline on Oct. 24, the Steelers traded Dave Smith, a wide receiver who had lost a lot of playing time, to Houston for George Webster, a once-great linebacker who was coming off a couple of years with knee operations.
The next game would be in Buffalo, where the Steelers would take on the 2-4 Bills. It would be Pittsburgh's first game on grass. A win would tie the 1972 team with the 1947 squad for the best start in team history, at 5-2, as well as be the first same-season, three-game winning streak in 10 years.
In the Oct. 28 Press, Musick noted how impressive the Steelers' pass rush had been.
"The harassment has been enough that in some quarters there is a demand that the front four be given a nickname commensurate with its ability -- the Anvil Chorus has been suggested by a sportscaster," he wrote.
"How about the Meanies?"
"The Steelers are 10-point favorites," he added. "But, of course, so was Goliath."
The Post-Gazette's Sell cautioned that "The Nollmen have been flops on foreign grids." And, by Saturday, the PG had the line down to 7 1/2.
Sunday, "I saw plays today I've never seen before ... I've never seen anything like it," said veteran linebacker Andy Russell.
The Bills' innovation wasn't enough, though, as the Steelers won, 38-21.
After a scoreless first quarter, Pittsburgh jumped out to a 17-0 halftime lead. O.J. Simpson ran for a 94-yard touchdown in the third quarter, on his way to a 189-yard day, but every time the Bills scored in the second half, the Steelers responded with a touchdown of their own.
Harris ran 15 times for 138 yards and two touchdowns, and caught a pass for a third score. Bradshaw was 9 of 17 for 93 yards, with one touchdown and one interception. The Steelers intercepted four Buffalo passes, and their total of 18 for seven games was one more than they had in the entire 1971 season.
"Until this point, the defense had been the key factor in our victories," said Noll. "In this game, the offense was the key."
At the halfway point of the season, Harris was the Steelers' leading rusher, with 359 yards on 71 carries. Fuqua was second with 302 yards. Bradshaw was the leading passer, completing 87 of 177 for 1025 yards, with five touchdowns and six interceptions. Shanklin was the leading receiver with 23 catches for 376 yards, followed by Lewis with 12. Ham's five interceptions led the team, and Gerela had scored 61 points.
WEEK 8 - CINCINNATI
Next up, the Bengals would come to town to break the tie at the top of the AFC Central. The game was sold out, and Dan Rooney made a bold prediction.
"I don't say it will happen next year, but in two years I think we will have advance sellouts for all our games," he said.
In fact, the Patriots' visit two weeks earlier was their last non-sellout.
With home games blacked out in the local market, The Press pointed out that "The nearest locations for Pittsburgh fans to watch Sunday's game on CATV are Weston, W. Va., and Cambridge, Ohio."
At his press conference, Noll mentioned that five of his players had suffered ankle injuries in War Memorial Stadium, but only L.C. Greenwood's was believed to be serious. They all ended up playing.
The PG reported Wednesday that the Steelers opened as 3-point favorites after covering the spread in the previous three games. The line moved to 3 1/2 by Saturday.
Cincinnati had the league's top-ranked defense. But running backs coach Dick Hoak was confident.
"We'll take our group over any group in the league. ... We may not have a superstar -- well, who knows? We may have them, too," he said.
The players were confident, but reasonably calm, about the upcoming challenge.
"Sure, this is the game," said Bradshaw. "It's a big game but we will treat it like any other game.
"Are we going to win? Heck, yes. Definitely. When you start to win, and we've won three in a row, you don't think you're going to lose."
"We don't need to be psyched for Sunday's game," said guard Bruce Van Dyke. "All we have to do is remember we are playing the Bengals. That's enough to get us up but good."
Joe Greene was looking forward to the second half of the season.
"I guess we're all a little nervous about it," he said. "We're wondering what's behind the corner. We're eager to look ... to check it out.
"We aren't winners yet," he added. "We've taken the steps. There's Sunday and other Sundays. It's a long way to go."
And Greene assessed the earlier loss in Cincinnati this way: "We gave the game away. It was a gift.
"That's the only one we gave away this year," he said. "We had a chance to beat Dallas, but they made the plays. We just didn't do it. We had a chance, but it wasn't a give-away."
On Nov. 2, the Steelers announced that the Dec. 3 Cleveland game was a sellout. The Browns still had 6,000 tickets available for the game in Cleveland on Nov. 19.
On Sunday, the Steelers jumped out to a 26-0 halftime lead and, as Musick put it in The Press, "Pro football's Edsel stepped boldly from history's footnotes to grind out a painfully-convincing 40-17 triumph for vengeance over Cincinnati, and now the Bengals are merely pretenders to the Central Division championship and a title which has eluded the Steelers for four agonizing decades." Attendance was 50,350.
A front page article in the PG quoted one long-time season ticketholder as saying, "I've given up drinking for this team," and a friend added, "Before, you had to be drunk to watch them."
The Steelers punted after one first down on the opening drive. But Doug Dressler fumbled the Bengals' first handoff. White recovered and returned the ball to the 7. Fuqua ran the ball in on the next play and Pittsburgh led, 7-0. A 54-yard punt return by Glen Edwards set up a 15-yard Gerela field goal, and it was 10-0 after a quarter.
Lewis caught a 28-yard touchdown pass from Bradshaw, and tight end Larry Brown was all alone for a 13-yarder. A Gerela field goal and a fumbled snap on an extra point added up to 26-0 at the half.
Virgil Carter replaced Ken Anderson as Cincinnati's quarterback in the second half. While he had some success, running for one touchdown and passing for another, the Steelers were able to respond. Lewis got behind Ken (the Rattler) Riley again for a 34-yard score, and Harris scored the final touchdown from two yards out.
Harris ran 15 times for 101 yards. Bradshaw threw for 190, while Joe Gilliam completed a 5-yard pass in three attempts in his NFL debut.
Paul Brown said, "They looked like Super Bowl participants."
Noll didn't agree with his old coach.
"We have a long, hard schedule ahead," he said. "I think Brown is setting us up. Yeah, that's what he's doing, setting us up."
He did, however, say that, "I think a lot of skeptics were unwilling to ... accept the truth." What truth? "That we're a helluva football team."
Van Dyke was named AP Offensive Player of the Week for the job he did shutting down star Bengal defensive tackle Mike Reid. Reid called him, "one of the best guards in the league." Van Dyke credited the help he got from centers Ray Mansfield and Jim Clack. "I had Reid by myself only once all day."
At the Nov. 6 press conference, the club announced that the last three home games of the season were sold out.
Noll discussed his team's state of mind. "We went into the game very emotional with a great desire to win. And it showed."
Could they keep it up?
"There is nothing we can do to get them ready except outline the problems they'll face," said Noll. "After we do that, it's up to them. The character of your football team takes it from there."
WEEK 9 - KANSAS CITY
They had to get ready for the Chiefs, who would come to Pittsburgh. Kansas City, who had won the Super Bowl a couple years earlier, was in first place in the West. They were half a game ahead of Oakland at 5-3 after beating the Raiders, 27-14, for their first win in Arrowhead Stadium. The game opened even, but the Steelers were a 1 1/2 point favorite by Saturday.
It was a big enough game that NBC sent its top announcing team of Curt Gowdy and Al DeRogatis. Len Dawson, whom the Steelers had originally drafted and then traded away, was Kansas City's star quarterback.
Bradshaw expressed his confidence.
"There's no reason why we shouldn't beat the Chiefs," he said. "We are as good as they are and they will have to respect us."
Chiefs coach Hank Stram showed his respect. "We're not underrating the Steelers. Anybody who does that is nuts. That Bradshaw is an excellent passer. He has a good running attack to go with him now. Their defense has always been great. What more does a team need?"
The Chiefs took a 7-0 lead into halftime on a 65-yard interception return by Jim Kearney. But Pittsburgh's defense was superb, and the Steelers scored 13 points in the fourth quarter to win, 16-7.
Henry Davis blocked a Jan Stenerud field goal attempt in the first quarter. Gerela missed two attempts of his own before Kearney scored his touchdown at 7:05 of the second quarter. The Chiefs recovered a Harris fumble at the Kansas City 11 to ruin the Steelers' chance to tie the game in the first half.
On their first drive on the second half, Pittsburgh had a fourth-and-one at the Chiefs' 13. The Steelers lined up and called signals, but Kansas City wouldn't jump offside. So Pittsburgh took the delay penalty, and Gerela kicked a 25-yard field goal. Late in the third, the Chiefs drove after their third interception of the day, but Stenerud was wide right on a 35-yard attempt.
On the ensuing drive, the Steelers got to fourth-and-goal on the 3, and chose to kick a 10-yard field goal early in the fourth. Ham recovered an Ed Podolak fumble at the Kansas City 39. After two incompletions and a 3-yard loss by Fuqua, Gerela gave the Steelers a 9-7 lead with a 49-yard field goal with 5:10 left.
On the first play after the kickoff, Henry Davis forced a fumble by Jim Otis and Ham recovered it at the Chiefs 22. Harris ran three times, the third around right end for seven yards and a touchdown with 3:33 to go. On their final drive, the Chiefs got as far as the Pittsburgh 7, but a sack and an incompletion ended the game.
Harris ran four times for 15 yards in the first half. After fellow running back Preston Pearson told him to run with his head up, he ended up with 17 carries for 134 yards. Bradshaw, who was banged up, was only 8 of 20 for 92 yards and three interceptions. The Pittsburgh defense held Dawson to 17 of 36 for 161, and the Kansas City running game to 75 yards in 29 carries. Edwards' interception with 2:42 kept the Steelers' record of at least one pick in every game alive.
"Before today," said Mansfield, "I guess we all had some doubts. We wondered how we would fare against one of the great teams in the league. Today, we erased the doubts."
"It was our best win by far," said Noll. "It's the finest defensive game we've played since I've been here."
Stram said, "You've got to give them credit; they showed a lot of poise."
"No, the Steelers didn't surprise me," he added. "We knew they had a good team last year. Today, well, it was evident the best team won."
"The Steeler defense played well as a unit," Dawson said. "That is the important thing. They did nothing that we didn't anticipate."
Vince Leonard wrote in the Post-Gazette that "one sign said 'Franco's Italian Army,'" so that was likely its debut. Gerela's Gorillas (who wore gorilla suits to games and put up banners to taunt visiting kickers) were also present.
Chiefs linebacker Willie Lanier was impressed by Harris. "He's a damn good back; it's as simple as that."
In The Press, Livingston wrote, "Around the National Football League, coaches and players are not surprised that the Steelers are leading the Central Division. Sports writers picked them overwhelmingly before the season started. Only the fans are surprised."
The AP named Ham their Defensive Player of the Week, and Harris the Offensive Player of the Week. Ham said of his Penn State teammate, "Franco is a fine back back right now. But he is going to be a great one in this league. He surely deserved the honors."
Then Ham added, "Now if they name (Joe) Paterno the Coach of the Year, I'll know it's fixed."
WEEK 10 - AT CLEVELAND
On Monday night, the Browns scored with 41 seconds left to beat San Diego, 21-17, and move into second place in the Central Division with a 6-3 record. They would next try to extend their home winning streak against the Steelers to eight games. Pittsburgh opened a seven-point favorite, and were up to 8 1/2 by Saturday.
Greene was confident.
"It's a game we have to win," he said. "We are not hoping to win it. We are going to win it."
So was Bradshaw.
"I don't see how we can lose after this," he said. "We'll beat Cleveland. We can beat them, no question."
Dwight White said, "You fellows are now putting tags on us fellows in the line. The Four Frankensteins and the Body Snatchers are only two of the names I can recall right now."
On a rainy day in Cleveland, a 26-yard field goal by Don Cockroft with 8 seconds left gave the Browns a 26-24 victory in front of a sellout crowd of 83,009. The Steelers had come back from a 20-3 deficit to take a 24-23 lead early in the fourth quarter before Cleveland pulled it out.
After the Browns took their big lead, Bradshaw hit Gerry Mullins, an offensive lineman playing tight end, for a 3-yard touchdown at the end of the first half.
Cockroft's 12-yard field goal made it 23-10 in the middle of the third quarter, but Fuqua scored on a 1-yard run at the end of the quarter. Then, 3:56 into the fourth, Harris ran 75 yards for a touchdown. Gerela's kick gave the Steelers a one-point lead.
With 1:58 left, Cockroft missed a 27-yarder wide right. But Bradshaw ran for 6 on a fake reverse on 3rd-and-7 from his own 23, and Pittsburgh punted. With 52 seconds left, Mike Phipps completed two passes to get the ball to the Steeler 23. After Pittsburgh jumped offside, Cockroft hit the 26-yarder to give Cleveland the win and a tie for the division lead.
"Coming from behind like that, then blowing it ... it's a disaster," said Noll.
Harris had another big day, rushing 12 times for 136 yards, and his 730 yards for the season broke Bill Dudley's team rookie record. Leroy Kelly picked up 107 on 21 carries for the Browns. Bradshaw was 10 of 21 for 136, with a touchdown and an interception. Phipps completed 14 of 25 for 194 yards, with a touchdown and two interceptions. Shanklin caught 5 balls for 108 yards.
Monday, Noll said, "In a nutshell, they beat the hell out of us. Leroy Kelly had an outstanding day. If we try to find something positive in the films it's the fact that we stayed as close as we were."
WEEK 11 - MINNESOTA
The Vikings, who won their fourth in a row, 45-41 over the Rams, were 6-4, which tied them with Detroit a game behind the surprising Packers in the NFC Central. The game opened even, and was still a pick-'em Saturday.
"The pennant-hungry Steelers" earned front-page coverage in the Post-Gazette with a 23-10 win over Minnesota.
After the Vikings tied the score, 10-10, on a 5-yard pass from Fran Tarkenton to Stu Voigt in the fourth quarter, the Steelers scored two touchdowns to win in the cold and precipitation. Harris ran for a 12-yard score behind a Van Dyke block in the first quarter. After a 61-yard run by Harris took the ball to the 1-yard line, Bradshaw dove for the touchdown that made it 16-10 after Gerela missed the extra point.
After Ed Marinaro didn't convert a 4th-and-1, Bradshaw hit Lewis on a wide-receiver screen for the 17-yard touchdown that clinched the game. Minnesota drove back down the field, but on the last play, Blount tipped the ball to John Rowser to keep the Steeler streak of games with an interception alive.
The Steeler defense came up big again, stopping Minnesota twice on 4th-and-1. When the Vikings tried a fake field goal on 4th-and-4 from the 7, Paul Krause's pass was knocked incomplete by Russell. Tarkenton completed 24 of 43 passes for 235 yards, while his running game was held to 95 yards in 38 attempts.
Harris ran around and through the Purple People Eaters for 128 yards in 17 carries. Bradshaw was 7 of 19 passing, for 93 yards, with a touchdown and an interception.
"Our defense put on the gutsiest display of the season," said Noll. "Although we fumbled a punt and had an interception that gave up the ball, the defense was up to it. And our offense helped by making big plays."
Vikings coach Bud Grant was impressed, as well.
"The Steelers didn't surprise us," he said. "They have been a tough, aggressive club all season."
And Tarkenton pointed out that, "We were inside their five-yard line three times and could only pick up three points."
White summed it up by saying, "The Vikes are tough, but we were tougher."
The PG's Jimmy Miller wrote about "all three members" of Franco's Italian Army marching atop the dugout after Harris made a big play.
It was Alumni Day, and Tom (The Bomb) Tracy won a punt, pass and kick competition at halftime.
Monday, the Steelers announced that playoff tickets not purchased by season ticketholders would go on sale Dec. 18 if they won the division. (Because home field was arbitrarily rotated around divisions, the Central champion would host as long as they were in. That's why the undefeated Dolphins came to Pittsburgh for the AFC Championship.) The divisional playoff seats cost $10.15 and the AFC Championship $12.15; the 15 cents was the stadium charge.
The AP once again named Harris Offensive Player of the Week.
WEEK 12 - CLEVELAND
The Steelers would have their chance for revenge against the Browns, and more importantly, the winner would have sole possession of first place. A Pittsburgh win would also mean a 7-0 home record for the season. Cleveland had won their last six games, but they were 0-2 in the short history of Three Rivers. They were coming off a 27-10 victory over Buffalo.
"This game on Sunday is our season," said Noll. "We will have to do better than we did the last time. The team realizes this."
"Our crowd will be ready," Russell said. "They all know this is the biggest game of the year. And it is by far my biggest game as a Steeler."
The Steelers opened as a 10-point favorite, and the line moved to 11 by Saturday. Because of the blackout rules, the sold-out game wouldn't be shown in Pennsylvania. Stations "in Cleveland, Zanesville and Youngstown, Ohio, and Parkersburg and Clarksburg, W. Va." would carry the broadcast.
Abrams noted in the Post-Gazette that "The Jack Ham 'Dobre Shunka Club,' 36 members strong, has a banner at Three Rivers Stadium for every Steelers' game. 'Dobre Shunka' is Slovak for 'Great Ham.'"
White was confident. "We're gonna wipe them out. This is the money game for both clubs. We'll beat them. Then, on to the Super Bowl."
The Post-Gazette's Page 1 headline was "Steelers Annihilate Browns," as Pittsburgh did wipe them out, 30-0.
After Russell recovered a fumble on Cleveland's opening drive, Gerela kicked a 36-yard field goal. The Browns then put together their best drive of the day, but Cockroft missed a 37-yard field goal attempt at the end of the first quarter. That was Cleveland's last visit to the Pittsburgh side of the 50.
Harris scored on a 1-yard run in the second quarter. In the third quarter, Russell recovered a Kelly fumble, and Harris finished the ensuing drive with an 11-yard run. Tight end John McMakin put together a 78-yard catch-and-run for the Steelers' last touchdown early in the fourth, and Gerela kicked two more field goals. The Steelers outgained the Browns, 337-126.
Harris had his sixth consecutive 100-yard game, picking up 102 on 20 carries. Kelly was held to 11 rushes for 40 yards. Phipps was 9 of 20 for 59 yards, and was sacked four times for a total loss of 32 yards. Bradshaw was 9 of 17 for 162, with one touchdown and no interceptions. McMakin caught three balls for 113 yards. Ham kept the Steelers' interception streak alive.
Abrams described the fans: "They came to cheer the 40-year-old Rooney U. Maidens on their way to their first division crown. They weren't disappointed."
"There was no question today who the better team was," said Browns coach Nick Skorich. "They made us make the big mistake. Their defense got stronger and they shut us out."
Greene said, "We just played much better ball today than we did in Cleveland. We got the rush on the quarterback and our coverage in the secondary was tops. No, we didn't change any game plan. We had only one plan. That was to win."
"It's like when you were a little kid and the bigger kid was always beating you up," was Mansfield's perspective. "Then suddenly you were grown up and you beat up on him."
Monday morning, the Steelers sold almost 1,000 season tickets for 1973 to fans who lined up early.
WEEK 13 - AT HOUSTON
The Oilers were 1-11 after losing, 20-10, at Atlanta. The Steelers opened as a 13-point favorite, and were up to 16 by Saturday. A Pittsburgh win, combined with a Cincinnati win over Cleveland, would give the Steelers their first division championship.
"Houston is a fine team despite its record," insisted Noll. "We've got to think Houston," added Russell. "Celebrating a division championship would be premature."
Despite Cleveland's 27-24 victory, Pittsburgh clinched a playoff spot with a 9-3 win over the Oilers. Bradshaw dislocated a finger on his throwing hand with 4:02 left in the second quarter when his hand hit Elvin Bethea's face mask on his follow-through, and Gilliam came in.
Each team tried three field goals. Gerela hit from 24, 39 and 15 yards, while Skip Butler made a 34-yarder, had a 25-yarder blocked by Greene, and missed from 53. Neither team had 200 yards of offense. Harris ran 21 times for 61 yards, putting him over 1,000 yards for the season. Bradshaw was 3 of 10 for 34 yards, and Gilliam completed 6 of 9 for 43. In addition to his field-goal block, Greene forced and recovered a fumble, and sacked Pastorini four times.
Several Steeler streaks ended. Harris didn't break Jim Brown's record with a seventh consecutive 100-yard rushing game. The defense didn't intercept Pastorini. And Shanklin, who bruised a knee early, didn't catch a pass for the first time in his career.
"Some of our people really gutted it out," said Noll. A flu bug had been going around the team, in addition to about eight more normal football injuries on the day.
Greene was named AP Defensive Player of the Week.
WEEK 14 - AT SAN DIEGO
The Chargers were 4-8-1, and coming off a 38-13 walloping by Denver. Their 41 turnovers were the most in the league. Pittsburgh opened a six-point favorite, but was down to five by Saturday. The Browns would play the Jets at 1 p.m. If Cleveland won, the Steelers would need to beat the Chargers to win the Central.
The Steelers flew to Palm Springs Tuesday night so they could practice in the Southern California warmth. They would also use a grass field at what was then the Angels' spring training site.
Thursday's Post-Gazette headlined their story, "Steelers Out to Avoid Old El Foldo." Sell remembered some old, painful losses, including 1947 and 1963.
That was the day that Frank Sinatra, who had run into Myron Cope at dinner the night before, attended practice to be inducted into Franco's Italian Army as a general. (The Army had many more than three members by then.)
While the Steelers were happy with Gilliam's play in relief, they put him on injured reserve with an injured knee and activated Hanratty from the taxi squad. Bradshaw would start, though.
The front page headline in the Dec. 18 Post-Gazette was, "Steelers Win 1st Title in 40 Years."
The Browns went into New York and won, 26-10, but Pittsburgh took advantage of six Chargers turnovers in San Diego and won, 24-2. Harris scored from 2 yards out at 3:09 of the first quarter. Five minutes later, Paul Costa tackled Bradshaw in the end zone to make it 7-2, but that was it for the Chargers. Fuqua ran for a 2-yard touchdown in the second, Gerela kicked a 26-yard field goal in the third, and Shanklin caught a 17-yard TD pass from Bradshaw in the fourth.
Neither starting guard (Van Dyke or Sam Davis) played, nor did Greenwood. Lewis cracked his clavicle during the game.
Harris only gained 34 yards in 15 rushes. Bradshaw was 12 for 23 through the air with a touchdown and interception. John Hadl was 11 of 26 for 122 yards and four interceptions, as San Diego ended up with 172 yards of total offense. Gerela missed one field goal and had two others blocked.
A smiling Art Rooney said, "Gee, it sure is great to win. Our boys were playing with physical handicaps, but they stayed in there all day."
Noll's response was, "It's a great win, and once again we had a lot of guys hurt. But the rest of them pitched in and did the job. They wanted to win -- and they did."
"I was wondering if I could get excited about winning the title," mused Greene. "I've got to admit -- I sure did. We won't let them burst our bubble now."
The playoff tickets that went on sale in sub-freezing temperatures at 10 a.m. Monday were gone by 4 p.m.
Harris ended up with 1,055 yards in 188 carries, and Fuqua rushed 150 times for 665 yards. Bradshaw completed 147 of 308 passes (47.7 percent) with 12 touchdowns and 12 interceptions, good for a 64.1 passer rating. Shanklin led the team with 38 catches for 669 yards. Ham led the team with 7 interceptions, Mike Wagner was second with six.
While Pittsburgh averaged 5.1 yards per carry, opponents were held to 3.9. And the Steelers' 64.5 passer rating as a team dwarfed their foes' 47.0.
And, to answer Sports Illustrated's concerns, they were 4-3 in away games, which represented twice as many road victories as they had in Noll's first three years, and the pass defense was one of the best in the league.
After losing the 1972 AFC Championship, the 1973 Steelers slid to second place with a 10-4 record. They were the wild card, but lost in Oakland. A year after that, Pittsburgh went 10-3-1 to win the division, and went on to win their first Super Bowl. The Same Old Steelers were dead.
All quotes are from the original newspaper coverage. Thanks to @PGH_Sports_Date, who tweeted some articles that happened to fall into holes in the Google News Archive.
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